As far as I understand it, the red zone means that if you are over 80 years old, your claim is expedited. If you self-identify as someone with a life-threatening condition—for example, you may be in palliative care—then your claim is pushed to the front of the line. It's given priority treatment.
What I mean by the first application is that it is the very first time that you, whether you're still serving or you're a veteran, put in a claim based on a condition that is disabling to you. It could be your knee, your hearing or whatever it is. There are myriad conditions that are service-related. It's the first time you put in that claim. There is a lot of information you must provide in that claim. You have to make the connection to service. You need a diagnosis. If you don't have a family doctor, it's difficult to get that diagnosis; in fact it can be almost impossible.
That's what I mean by first application. It's that first time someone makes an application. If they are not over 80 years old or they don't self-identify as being in a life-threatening situation, then they just join the queue.
Reassessments happen once an application [Technical difficulty—Editor] and the department has said, “Yes, you have a problem with your left knee. We agree that's a problem, and here's the assessment we've made.” They will do a reassessment a couple of years down the road. Those go through fairly quickly.
The wait time for a reassessment or a red-zone application is really short. The amount of time it takes to do that is really short, and that drives down the average number that you're hearing. You're not hearing what the true problem is, in my opinion. This is Nishika Jardine's opinion. The people who put in that first application could do so before they leave the service. It could be right after or 50 years down the road for that first application.